


River and Rose

by action_cat



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fighting Monsters, Fights, Gen, TARDIS rooms, Tests, cool planets, dying civilizations, weird bar dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/action_cat/pseuds/action_cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose Tyler and River Song meet at a bar. One of them, falls of a cliff, while the other one is transported to a spaceship as a fugitive. Guess which one! Anyway, River and Rose meet up for a chat, and they try to see if the other really is the Doctor's wife. In the end, River has to figure out a way for Rose to leave the planet without dying, and Rose has a couple of secrets of her own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	River and Rose

A Year From now, we'll all be gone. The radio sang out, ballads drifting through the smoky bar.

River sighed into her drink. She'd had a long night, and the alcohol wasn't helping that much. She downed one, and ordered another. She sighed again. It'd been three months since she'd seen her Doctor, and she was starting to worry that she lost him for good. Amy and Rory had contacted her a few times, but otherwise she was left in prison with a few old friends until last year, when she had been released. It was a surprise, but River didn't look back. She wiped her eyes, remembering good times with her parents, and her love. It was rough, but she was River. She could do anything. The music drifted throughout the bar, the last notes of a melody quavering in the dingy light.

A girl with blond hair sat down next to her. She also sighed, and ordered a beer. River was surprised. That was an Earthen drink. Most species didn't favor it, but for some reason humans just did. The girl gave the bartender a small smile, then took a sip. She closed her eyes, holding on to her beer. River opened her mouth. 

"I'm sorry, but are you from Earth?" River set her drink down, ignoring the pungent smell it was emitting. The girl opened her eyes, brown and kind. 

"Yeah, I am. Why, is it odd for a human to have beer in the Notocaspaarean Sector?" She had a bit if sass around her, the Doctor would like her. River chuckled, scooting a bit closer.

"Not at all. If I were completely human, I'd probably be drinking that shit right now." River internally shushed herself, why was she saying this? Didn't even know the girl. But yet some small part of her said she could trust her. The girl looked at her daringly.

"Really? You look human. Or, part human. But, I've got alien friends who look human but aren't." The girl smirked, wolf-like. She was dangerous, yes, but brave and caring too. River rolled her eyes, smiling.

"We don't look human. We look Gallifreyan, they came first. That's what the Doctor says, anyway. I'm River, River Song by the way." River held out her hand. The girl gaped a bit, and paid for her drink. She hopped out of her chair.

"Come on, I need you to meet someone. I'm Rose, Rose Tyler." River paid for her drink, and followed Rose out into the cold moonlight. Exotic plants were everywhere, dominating the tiny bar they were previously in. Rose walked over to a motorcycle, and tossed River a helmet. River put it on, her ferocious curls popping out the bottom. Rose hopped on, gunned the engine, and they shot off into a canyon, everything blue like the night sky.   
They swerved around pillars of stone, old nations crumbling, remains of empires. Crests and seals and statues would randomly pop out, and Rose would just barely avoid them. After half an hour, they arrived at a cliff face. Rose parked, and put the keys in her pocket. She hadn't worn a helmet, she'd come alone. Rose slid off the bike and crossed her arms. She stared warningly at River.

"How do you know about the Doctor?" She asked suspiciously. Her hand moved towards her pocket, where the outline of an X-3W871 gun was shown. River frowned.

"How do you know about him?" She herself felt for her gun, making sure it was still there. It wasn't.

"He's my husband. Answer the question." Rose pointed River's gun at her. River growled. It was stupid of her to leave it in her back pocket.

"You pick pocketed me!" She lunged for it, and Rose jumped out of reach.

"Answer the question!" 

"He's my husband too!" River said, angrily. Rose stopped, surprise and hurt on her face. She blinked a couple of times, and pocketed the guns. God, that girl had a lot of room in her leather coat.

" Which regeneration?" Rose said suspiciously.

"Eleventh. You?"

"Tenth." 

"Ah. That explains everything."

"Wait, if you're the Doctors wife, has he told you his name yet?" Rose crouched, igniting a fire with a shot of her gun on the surface. The cliff warmed up instantly.

"Well, yeah. I assume you know?" Rose nodded, and quietly the whispered it to each other. They looked at each other of a moment, then nodded. "Well you're definitely married to him."

“So you are the Rose Tyler, the one who fought Torchwood with him? The pink and yellow woman who made him love again?” River sat down next to her.

"Yeah. Does your Doctor ever mention me?" Rose looked down a bit, grimacing for a moment.

"Occasionally. Honestly, I feel sad for him when he does. He's lost so many people." Rose nodded, as River pulled a flask from her pocket. "Like some?" Rose obliged, and they switched back and forth, taking a sip.

"I've met most of them. I mean, I've met Martha Jones, Jack- I mean, Captain Jack Harkness, Donna Noble, Sarah Jane, the lot. Every time he remembers, his face sags and he stares off in the distance for a moment. " Rose shook her head sadly. 

"He never mentioned those people. He's mentions you a couple of times, but I've never met a Donna Noble, or Martha Jones. Not even a Sarah Jane or a Jack Harkness. Now he, he sound fun." River giggled a bit.

" Trust me, he's a ruckus. God, he's got a boyfriend on Earth named Ianto, but he will flirt the hell out of a rock. Anything with a face, and he's talking to it." 

"Like I said, sounds fun." They sat in quiet for a moment, passing the flask back and forth. Rose spoke first.

" But it might've been good that they don't see him that much. I know Jack will always miss us, but we pick him up randomly for visits. Martha Jones run a whole task force because of him, and Sarah Jane has a family. I know Donna forgot him, but she's happy."

"He traveled with my parents for a while. Those were the good days." River smiled, reminiscing on old times. Rose laughed. 

" I can hardly imagine him fighting aliens with parents! They must have been old."

"Well my dad was two thousand, but he and my mum look younger than me. I was a weird baby, never got raised by them. We had so many adventures on Earth, an on other...places. But that's a long story, and I don't want to indulge in it now." 

"That… must have not ever gotten old."

"The times of my life. I haven't seen them for a few months, and I can't say I don't miss them. If he would randomly pick me up, it would be amazing. Oh, was it ever. I haven't seen him in a while. I mean the Doctor. Haven't seen him." River closed her eyes sadly, taking a long swig from the flask. Rose smiled sympathetically . 

"Why don't you come inside for a cuppa? I've been in hiding for the past month, and I've fixed it up a bit." Rose stood up, jingling the keys in her pocket. River followed. The cave was cozy, old armchairs and a telly, a rock ledge used as a kitchen counter. There were hallways going to other rooms, she supposed, but they sat in the main one. It was a funny old cave, knitted cozies and pillows. River sat down on an armchair, while Rose made tea. She put the kettle on a boil, and sat down on an armchair.

"Have you ever been to prison?"Rose asked, shadows lighting her face. River sighed, and indulged in a story she wished she would never tell.

"I like to tell myself I was released from prison. That somehow, I was cleared and found not guilty. But thats' not what happened." River stared into a small fireplace, flames flickering in her eyes. Rose sat on the counter, a lamp igniting next to her.

“I’m sorry. You’re a fugitive?” The kettle whistled slightly, and outside the wind howled. River smiled sadly, with a small amount of anger, if that was the simplest way to out it. It wasn’t just that, her hair bristled, and she clenched the armrest. 

“Isn’t everyone who comes here? What did you do?” Rose sighed. She took the kettle off, hopped off from the counter, and poured tea. River accepted the cup gratefully. “Go on, we all have reasons for living in caves.”

“I’m in hiding. On one of the Doctor’s adventures, we got separated, and now I’m stuck in this planet.” When she spoke, her eyes flashed a frightening shade of yellow, and River tightened her lips.

“Has he....you know, regenerated yet?” It was a tense question, and one that should be avoided. Rose sighed.

“That’s the thing, my case is special. I got stranded on a bay, and a copy of him stayed with me when the real Doctor left. But I think that when the Doctor, the original Doctor regenerated, the part of him that was the Tenth came back. The one that stayed with me woke up one day, and he remembered. He spoke exactly like my Doctor, and acted almost exactly the same. But now he’s missing.” Rose sat down on another armchair, and crossed her legs. River could see the outline of both the guns in her pockets.

“I don’t know what happened, but if he regenerated, then where did the part of him that was his old regeneration go? Did it stay and fester in the new one’s mind, or did it leave and go to another universe, or did it go back to the person who affected his life the most? I haven’t seen the Doctor in a fortnight, and I can’t even fathom what would happen if he met you.”

River kept her voice steady. “And why is that?”

“Because you’re from another regeneration. You’ve experienced things that he hasn’t yet, at least my Doctor hasn’t. He’s experienced things that he can’t tell you, for all we know he could have watched you die without knowing who you were. You aren’t supposed to know what happens to him here, and he isn’t supposed to know what happens to you now.”

River raked her hands through her messy hair, pondering what she had just heard.

“I’m his wife. I should be able to see this regeneration of him.”

Rose spoke softly. “I’m his wife too. Your Doctor won’t ever come back for me, and I don’t want him to. I have what I need with my Doctor. Your Doctor barely even talks about me, from what you say, and mine doesn’t know you.” Rose stood up.

“River, I’ve lived through two of his regenerations. If it’s taught me anything, you can’t ever expect one of them to be like another. Everything is random, and I’m just lucky he didn’t leave me behind on Earth.” She walked over to a picture of two people, a man and a woman, sit together on a bench. They faced away from the photographer, holding hands. Rose pushed the frame back slightly, and put her finger on a stain. A small opening appeared, and Rose drew out a box.

“When he came back, when he really came back, he gave me this, and what’s inside had never stopped glowing. I don’t know if that means that he’s close or not, but this is the last thing I have of him. River, I respect you, because you can take care of yourself, but this is my war. I can’t change anything.”

River had a sullen look upon her face, and she realized that Rose was right. Rose’s Doctor could not even know you, and she couldn’t disrupt the timelines. She’d already had too much experience of that. But she needs to get off, and if Rose can’t help her, then she has no place here.

“Why did you even bring me here?” River asked bitterly.

“Someone’s been following me. People got to stick together.” Rose pocketed the box and tapped her gun. “A girl has got to be prepared.”

River was shamefaced. “Sorry. If you’d come, I’d probably do the same thing. But if we are in trouble, then we have to get off this planet. What do we have?”

Rose drew out her materials. “Some salt, my X-3W871, your blaster, some cooking utensils, my motorbike, a tea kettle, and three backpacks. You?”

“Everything you see here, and my journal. Besides that, I’ve got nothing.”

“What if we could teleport you onto the nearest ship? You could hide, and get off when it next makes port.” Rose drew out a map of the sector, and pointed to where they were. “We’re here, and the trade routes go here. It’s an easy particle transporter.”

River gave a fleeting smile. “Do we have everything for that? I can’t exactly go back to the bar, I saw a chap looking at me weirdly. A woman comes onto a far out sector, who knows what type of crap could be going on.”

Rose wrote out directions onto a sheet of paper. “Never mind him. Here, next to the bar is a road. On that road, there are three rocks that look like they shouldn’t be there. Underneath it is a Time Vortex Manipulator, I’m sure you know how to use one?” River nodded.” Good. Use the Manipulator to latch onto the nearest ship, and then send me the coordinates. I’ll fix something up, and see you on the ship. Okay?”

River frowned slightly. “Wait, but are you sure you’ll be able to get on the ship? There are other ways, you know.”

Rose stared at her in the eye and handed her the paper. “River, don’t argue with me. This is the best choice, and that ship is going to Earth.” She strode over to a plan on a nearby table, with a diagram of the ship with it’s shipping schedules outlined in red. “You can see your family. Your mum, your dad. I’ll hitch a ride to Cardiff, I have friends there.”

“Are you sure about this? You might not be able to make it.”

“I’ll be fine. Take the bike, I have to clean up.” They shook hands, both glancing down at the bands on the other’s left hand. River smiled.

“Gun, Rose.” River held out her hand mischievously. Rose laughed and gave her it.

“Best of luck, River Song.”

“The same, Rose Tyler.” River walked out to the edge of the cave, and hopped on the bike. Rose waved, smiling slightly to her, and then watched her disappear off the cliff. She sighed, and packed a bag.

 

RIVER

River zoomed past the cliffs, just barely avoiding being hit by overhangs. On Rose’s motorcycle, she sped past crumbling cities, abandoned capitals, all lost to the blue landscape. It was cold, and even though the Notocaspaarean Sector planets had a similar atmosphere to Earth, Rycvoxxx^3 was colder than first thought. She replayed the image of Rose’s eyes glowing gold, and reminded herself that something was not right. The Doctor had told her about how he saved her by regenerating, but something in that story mentioned glowing eyes.

“So as she walked out of Sexy, I, uh, mean my TARDIS, her eyes were gold. I asked what had she done to herself, and I knew that the TARDIS let her look into her heart. I couldn’t save her without destroying myself, so I died and regenerated. I took away the energy." He sighed, his arm around her, wine, a beach, no one around for miles. River looked up at him admiringly. "We were at the Bad Wolf transmission station. I had tried to save everyone, and she came back. She said she could see everything. All that is. All that was. All that ever could be. And I took that away, so I could save her. She brought back a person, and that person died more deaths than I have. It was all because of the Bad Wolf.

River neared the village. The bar, was twinkling slightly, drunken citizens stumbling around. She parked the bike, and put the helmet on the handlebars. A few drunken creatures clicked and rasped at her, but she went to the edge of the bar and found a path. It was beautiful, covered with exotic flowers and vines. The Doctor would have loved this place. Her feet clicked against the rocky path, what a good night for army boots. It was getting steadily colder as she walked. River zipped up her light jacket, and glanced shiftily around the garden. It was still getting colder.

Slowly, as the temperature dropped, the plants diminished. You could see more clearly, but there was less beauty. And there they were.

Three rocks that have no business being there. Inside a circle of salt rocks, there were three stones. One, was dark blue with specks of white and silver peeking out. The second one was brown and mossy, but sturdy and strong. And the third was purple, with colors everywhere, mapping out like a solar system. You could see nebulas, stars, planets, entire galaxies in that rock.   
River reached towards them, but as she did a salt rock grew. It grew, until it had become the size of her. She stepped backwards, and gazed up at it. It was a humanoid figure of rock, and it looked deadly.

“Who are you? What are you parents, Star Child?” A great, rumbling voice echoed around her. River pulled out her gun.

“You really want to know?” River hid the blaster behind her back, just in case.

“Tell me who your parents were, Star Child.” The voice echoed. She smirked.

“My Mother was of the sky. Every night, she traveled the stars.” River pulled off the safety.

“ My Father was of the Earth. He held my mother from leaving her home forever.” River pulled it away from behind her back. The salt creature seemed unsurprised. 

“But who are you, Star Child? You are not of the Sky or Earth.” It rumbled, stone pillars shaking. She pointed it at the creature, barely flinching, and gave it a small smile

“ My mother was of the sky. My father was of the Earth.” River repeated this, then shaking with rage as she whispered the next words. “ But I, I am of the Universe.” 

BANG! The salt creature disintegrated, and the circle of salt rocks was broken. River stepped inside and overturned the rocks. And there it was. A Vortex Manipulator. Strapping it onto her wrist, she unfolded the sheet of paper Rose wrote for her.

Dear River Song,

It was nice to meet you, but I won’t see you again. By now, you probably just disintegrated one of the salt rock creatures. Sorry. Challenges are interesting, for those who do not expect them. But we being the Doctor’s wife, we are automatically thinking about these challenges. Underneath those rocks is a Vortex Manipulator. Treasure it with your life, it was given to me by a dear friend. 

Below are the coordinates for the ship you are to stowaway on. It’s called the Melody, and it goes to Earth. Watch out, but search the ship. Hopefully, your gun will still work once you get aboard. Dinner is a seven, tea is at five. 

River, I’m sorry, but you will see my Doctor one last time. When you do, do not give up hope. You will be safe, and everything will go along perfectly. I think it would be best if we never mentioned this to either of our Doctors. They will get confused again, and last time that happened.... well, that’s a story for another day. 

Be ready. Find your parents, and find the Doctor. Thank you, and I dearly hope that someday he will tell you about our adventures. In the meantime, be careful.

Sincerely,

Rose Tyler

 

River tucked the note away, after memorizing the coordinates that Rose had scribbled underneath her signature. As she started to type them in, a roar came from the edge of the garden. She typed faster. The roar got louder. River swirled around, facing a guard from the prison. She smiled mischievously at them, and in a flash of light, she was gone.

River gasped. She was in the bowels of the ship, looking down at the planet. Swiveling on the spot, her dress turning behind me like a snake, she walked to the door, when a familiar voice was heard.

“Yes, Amy, I’ll be quick. And reliable. Yes, I’ve got my sonic screwdriver. No, no, I don’t need- no!” He paused, and River turned around, hardly daring to believe it. He was still staring at the doors, talking on the phone. Tweed jacket, suspenders, floppy hair. It was her Doctor. 

“Amy, don’t worry I-” He turned around and saw her, the woman of his dreams. She smiled, watching his mouth make a little ‘o’. He licked his lips nervously, and kicked a nearby can. “I’ve already found her.” 

He snapped the phone shut, and strode towards her. River walked, hiding the paper in her boot along with her blaster.

“Professor River Song. May I ask what you are doing here?” The Doctor smirked a bit, and reached for her hand. She reached up and touched his face.

“Spoilers, Sweetie.” They kissed under the lamp, the TARDIS in the distance.It was gold, he tasted like peppermint and something else she couldn’t place. It was supposed to make up for when he was gone, but the Doctor always has other plans. They drew away. 

“No, really, what are you doing here? I got a call on the psychic paper saying Bad Wolf on it, and here you are! Really, tell me where you’ve been!” Together, they walked towards the TARDIS, hand in hand, stride matching stride. River stopped outside the door.

“Like I said, spoilers. It’s good to see you, where have you been?” River walked inside, and he followed, shutting the door. 

“Oh you know... a bit of this and that.” He pulled and dialed a few things on the console, and there they went, flying away into the universe. River Song was back with her Doctor, just like it was supposed to be.

 

ROSE  
Rose walked back into the cave. She sighed, and opened up a computer. It was necessary for her to hide things from River, but this might have gone a bit too far. Starting up a program, Distress Call 3713, it latches on to the whatever. This time, it was sent to the next regeneration, River’s Doctor. She wondered, for a few seconds, if the Eleventh regeneration remembered her. If he remembered Bad Wolf, and the time she saved Jack and he saved her. Probably not, but if so, this was Rivers only hope. Rose typed a the directions in, and sent the code. BAD WOLF. 

Hopefully, he received it. She couldn’t stress on that fact at the moment, now she had no way off, unless, a miracle appeared. If only, if only.

Rose prepared to leave. Clothes went in a satchel, photos and technology and weapons in another. Food, her phone, and of course, the special container the Doctor had made for her TARDIS key. I wonder why it won’t stop glowing. If he’s here, I would know it. She surveyed the cave one more time, and sent one more message, but this time to her husband.

 

THE ONLY ROSE GROWS ON THE CLIFF  
She smiled, and walked out, shouldering her backpack. The fireplace was still flickering, the kettle still warm, the armchairs still with body-shaped indents. Over the past few months, Rose had hid in there, living on monthly discrete visits to the store. Always on a random day, to fool anyone following her. When Rose stepped outside, it began to rain. The clouds were a sorrowful dark green, and Rose stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down into the deep abyss below, a black pit. She was lonely, and five more minutes until the plunge. Rose tried to peer into the clouds, to see the ancient civilizations that everyone had fled, for reasons that were entirely their own. Three minutes.

Rose checked her pockets. Her gun, phone, and a few personal items were nestled safely on her. She pulled her hood over her head, her blond hair damp. Rose stared mournfully at the clouds, praying for her Doctor to return. She never expected to live with three regenerations, let alone two. It was okay if River had captured the Doctor’s heart, because the Doctor changes. Always, and forever. River could take care of him. They’d be okay. 

One Minute. Rose took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She imagined the day they first met, how he had completely surprised her, saved her life, and then told her to live a normal one. As if she could, after a glimpse of that. She imagined the look on his face when Jack danced with her, that scary night in London. She remembered when they first kissed, and he saved her, and turned out even better than before. A new regeneration. Tears trickled down her cheeks, but there was still more.

She remembered the Satan Pit, where they were separated, and she knew he loved her. When they went and fought werewolves with Queen Victoria, when they went back to stop all the telly’s from eating people’s faces. She remembered Doomsday, where they fought Torchwood, where he almost said he loved her, but was separated. And then, a year later when she came back, and he was so happy to see her, and then, in that house by Bad Wolf Bay, when the original Doctor regenerated, and her alternate Doctor became her Doctor, the night he came back to her, again.

Rose opened her eyes, still crying. She sniffed, closed her eyes again, and stepped off the cliff. Into oblivion, to find her Doctor. She stepped off the cliff, into the depths of the air, and she flew, because someone had caught her.

Rose opened her eyes. She was lying down, in a bed. And actual bed. Not a ledge, not a sleeping bag, but a full-length bed with comfy pillows and soft blankets. She sat up, and noticed, for the first time, she was in pajamas. I didn’t change. Oh god, JACK! She screamed, pulling on a robe, and striding through the door. But it didn’t lead to a kitchen.

She walked into the console room of the TARDIS, and there, sitting on the chairs with his legs on the console, was her Doctor.

“Doctor.” She shrieked happily, and he turned around. The moment he saw her, his eyes lit up and he smiled so brightly. The Doctor jumped off, and ran towards Rose. She ran to him, and the embraced. He kissed the top of her head, and she held onto him so very tight. He looked down and smiled.

“It’s good to see you awake. I made bacon.” One hand on the back of her head, stroking her messy blond hair. “I missed you so much.”

“Don’t ever leave me, please, please, please don’t. I went insane, I... I just missed you.” Rose said, crying a bit into his fuzzy robe. He obviously had just woken up, and was still disheveled. He lead her back into her room, and they laid down on the bed together.

“What did you do while I was gone? I found you on a cliff, you had collapsed and were barely alive. I kinda freaked out a bit.” The Doctor put his arm around her, and looked down, smiling.

Rose looked up, gazing happily at her husband. “Nothing of import. You’re here now, and that’s all that counts.” That was just brimming the surface, but they had time to talk about it. 

Tons of time. The Doctor planted a kiss on here head, and sat up.

“So, d’you want some bacon?”

**Author's Note:**

> There is a song, called Rivers and Roads, by The Head And The Heart, which kinda describes this story. Thanks for reading, and please post comments below! Cheers!


End file.
